The talk in football

Fulham are encouraging Manchester United to follow up their interest in goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. Sir Alex Ferguson is thought to be looking for another stopper after losing faith with Tim Howard. Roy Carroll is stalling on a new deal and his mistake against Lyon on Tuesday will not have inspired confidence. Fulham want to recoup some of the £7million they paid for Van der Sar in 2001 and the January transfer window is their last chance before he becomes a free agent next summer. Chris Coleman, despite public denials, is also ready to let another couple of players leave to boost the club's finances.

Identity crisis for Dein

David Dein, Arsenal's vice-chairman, is a well known face in football - but not always at Highbury. Dein had breezed into work when he was stopped in his tracks by one of the organisers of an Islington Council conference being held in a suite at Highbury. "Excuse me," the young lady told him. "You need to sign in for the conference before you can go up." "The conference?" replied a bewildered Dein. "Yes, you can sign in at reception," the organiser insisted. It was left to a helpful bystander to explain that Dein (right) not only worked at Highbury but was fairly senior in the Arsenal hierarchy.

Hazard finds way to Palace

Crystal Palace are upholding a fine tradition of recruiting former cab drivers to their coaching staff. Micky Hazard, the former Tottenham and Chelsea midfielder, is the latest black taxi driver to join the backroom team at Selhurst Park, driving their Under-16s forward. He follows former coach and assistant manager Terry Bullivant, who apparently had The Knowledge before he joined Palace.

Dowie's pyjama party

Still at Palace, Iain Dowie says his Hungarian goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly is not a clown - he just has a penchant for pyjamas. The eccentric stopper has a lucky pair of grey tracksuit bottoms he says he has been wearing for nine years and Dowie admits he is a fan. The Crystal Palace manager said: "We've offered him better bottoms than he is wearing, but he likes them and they are not bad at all. In fact I wear a very similar pair to bed."